By Ross Loehr, Business Development Officer, Intuition College Savings Solutions

June 16, 2020

“Daddy, I’m riding all by MYSELF just like you said I would!!” My daughter Junebug was ecstatic as she pumped her bike pedals furiously and flew down the road with shiny streamers flowing from the handlebars. Her huge smile filled me up with happiness as I biked next to her.

It wasn’t an easy process to get here. She started out slow and could barely pedal even with training wheels at first. Through practice and encouragement, she reached a point where she was able to pedal slowly with the training wheels. Unfortunately, there were numerous times that she tired after a few blocks stating, “Daddy, we need to go home! My batteries are too low.” More than once, I found myself carrying her bike as we trudged home in defeat. Over time she improved, and it seemed she was ready to remove the training wheels. I ran with her what seemed like 500x over the next week. There were skinned knees and elbows, multiple falls, tears and one unfortunate crash into a neighbor’s tree (this led to lots of tears).

Several times she said, “I’ll never learn to ride a bike! I can’t do it Daddy!!” I did my best to calm her fears and encourage her. “Junebug, I know you can do this! You’ve impressed me with how much you’ve learned since you were born, and you are going to keep doing that as you grow up!” She didn’t seem convinced, but my goading apparently motivated her just enough to keep trying. Finally, we reached the tipping point. … We were on the beach and going for attempt 500, and this time as I let go everything fell into place. She was gliding all by herself! I ran beside her for a few moments before stopping and cheering her on as she continued pedaling forward.

As a dad, you always want the best for your kids AND you want them to be happy and independent. It’s been amazing showing Junebug the world and watching her interact and learn new things. I do my best to giver her the resources, tools, encouragement and support that she needs to move confidently into the future. One day she will go off on her own and I hope an education is one of the tools that will help her successfully navigate that next step. This is why saving in a 529 college savings plan is so important. It provides resources for an education that will help prepare her for the future.

As we celebrate this Father’s Day with a family bike ride that hopefully doesn’t include “low batteries,” I’m planning to enjoy the time I have with her while she is still a youngster. I also will continue to save in her 529 plan so she will have the opportunity for an education that will allow her to ride forward on her own. Happy Father’s Day!

 

About the Author

Ross Loehr is the Business Development Officer at Intuition College Savings Solutions (“ICSS”). For the last 30 years, ICSS has offered plan management solutions to the 529 industry. ICSS currently services eleven 529 plans and administers over one million participant accounts. Visit www.intuitioncss.com or contact Ross at mailto:Ross.Loehr@intuitioncss.com for more details.